Allotments Committee Minutes 14 June 2022

TRIMDON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Allotments Committee Meeting of Trimdon Parish Council in Trimdon Community College, Elwick View, Trimdon Village on Tuesday 14 June 2022 at 7:00pm

Present Councillors John Burton, Ian Coulson, David Smith, Les Oliver, Paul Trippett, and Rob Gilbert

1/22 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ian Quinn, George Elliott and Keith Thompson

Resolved that the apologies for absence be approved.

2/22 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Resolved that there were no declarations of interest.

3/22 PUBLIC PARTICIPATIONS

There were two members of the public present on being Vicki Parnaby from the Trimdon Village Allotment Group.

4/22 ALLOTMENT COMMITTEE TERMS OF REFERENCE

The Allotment’s Committee Terms of Reference was circulated with the agenda.

Resolved that the Allotment Committee Terms of Reference be approved.

5/22 CLERKS REPORTS

1. The Clerk reported that he had met with three plot holders (Vicki Parnaby, John Storey and Francis Metcalf) from of the Trimdon Village Allotment site to resolve issues and complaints. The intention was to form a group to work with the Clerk to address issues and act as liaison between the Council and the allotment holders. The meeting had been very productive and relations improved. Vicki Parnaby from the Allotment Group was in attendance and contributed to the discussion.

Resolved that the report be noted.

1. The Clerk informed members that the water issues at the Trimdon Village allotment site had been resolved. Two of the allotment holders, one of whom was a qualified plumber, had disconnected all of the allotments from the water system and had reconnected six standpipes around the site. A check of the water meter flow found that no leaks were present and the system had been switched on.

Resolved that the report be noted and that the Council was thankful to John Storey and Francis Metcalf for their work in repairing the water system.

1. The Clerk reported that as part of the meeting with allotment group, they had agreed to support each other to reduce the height of fences around some of the allotments.

Resolved that the report be noted.

1. The Clerk reported that during the absence of the head groundsman a key to the Trimdon Village allotment site gate had been issued to Vicki Parnaby who had opened and closed the allotment on occasions. The allotment group who had met with the Clerk requested permanent allocation of this key, which would not be given outside of the three allotment holders identified. They intended that the key would be used to open the allotments on a weekend and that the key holder would be responsible for closure.

Resolved that the allotment gate key be issued permanently to the allotment group and that they be allowed to open and close the entrance gate on a weekend.

1. The Clerk reported that the allotment group had requested the bollards be removed from the site. They had originally been placed to prevent fly tipping and young people racing around the site on quad bikes. Since the fitting of the new gate this was no longer an issue and removing the bollards would improve access to allotment holders.

Resolved that the bollards be removed.

6/22 PLANNING